WESTFIELD – Mayor Daniel M. Knapik is requesting the City Council to authorize an appropriation of $157,500 of Community Preservation Act funds to purchase a 13.2 acre parcel of open space land located on Northwest Road.
The land owner, John Pitoniak, is seeking to sell the parcel to an abutting property owner for $130,000. The property is currently in Chapter 61-A status, which lowers the property tax, providing financial relief and an incentive to land owners to preserve open space.
Chapter 61-A of the Massachusetts General Laws allows the city, which forfeited tax revenue by approving the lower tax rate, the right of first refusal or purchase when that property is being sold.
The Community Preservation Committee voted in July to seek City Council approval of an appropriation of Community Preservation Act funding to purchase 13.2 acres of land off Northwest Road. The Conservation Commission also voted in July to endorse the city’s right to exercise the option of buying land, joining several other municipal boards in supporting the purchase of the property under the 61-A provisions.
City Planner Jay Vinskey said during the July, 11 CPC meeting that 61-A releases “come up fairly often” but that the city seldom exercises its right to purchase those parcels. The Pitoniak parcel may be an exception.
“The land abuts well #5 and is across the street from farmland under a permanent conservation restriction and down the street from the land that the city just purchased,” Vinskey said. “Purchasing the land would serve to protect the (Little River) aquifer. its valuable property that the city should consider exercising its option to buy.”
The City Council has 120 days to act on the Chapter 61-A release petition and voted at its July 8 session to send the petition to the Law Department, Water Resource Department and the council’s Legislative & Ordinance Committee for further review. That 120-day period to purchase the land expires in October.
Community Development Director Peter J. Miller Jr., said that the council action gives a number of city agencies an opportunity to assess the possible purchase.
“I’m glad the City Council sent it to committee so we can run it past a few people to see if it’s a worthwhile purchase,” Miller said. “It’s definitely something that we should check out.”
Vinskey requested the CPC to approve the $130,000, plus another $27,500 for contingencies, such as conducting a survey of the property that would be attached to the deed. That additional funding would also pay legal and deed filing fees, as well as a conservancy fee for the agency holding the conservation restriction.
Vinskey, during reports of City Officers, will report to the City Council that the Conservation Commission, Planning Board and Water Commission have all endorsed the land purchase. Property acquired with CPA funds has to be placed under an open-space preservation and conservation restriction.
